And There She Was...

And There She Was

And there she was, I gasped aloud
Then at my feet my turgid shroud
I gaze in wonder; a little cowed
My goddess radiant above the crowd

I watch, as lamb to the slaughter
Perfection in somebody's daughter
Laughs like the spring brooks bubbling water
Long I've waited far I've sought her
Couldn't shine more brightly, then the sunlight caught her

Her every move, gesture, look, divine
Helen of Troy's ancestral line
I watch entranced; she's frozen time
Heroine in every pantomime

To find the courage to approach her requires great heart
But assembled words just fall apart
Speech died at birth; dumb from the start
She glides passed; a classic work of art

She is the one my soul has sought
Her perfume stills all rational thought
As though by God's will to this place I'm brought
But coat and I together on the peg are caught

Surely she knows me as her soul mate?
She recognizes my tremulous state?
Was I really worth the wait?
She seems slow, unprepared, to take the bait

She sees my stare and returns my gaze
My senses gone; a perfumed haze
"Can I help you?" her full lips says
My mouth opens, the reply takes days

"Would you kindly join me for a drink?"
Not too inspiring but I cannot think
"I'm afraid I must decline", her friend opposite winks
My joy at meeting like the setting sun sinks

I watch her prepare to leaving with her friends
Only once this opportunity Heaven sends
Coulda, shoulda, woulda, songsmith pens
She's rising; she and horizon quickly blends

A rush of blood, a chase, "You'll think me a simple fool"
"But I have never yet seen one quite to beautiful"
"Do me the honour of exchanging names
And tell me tomorrow we'll meet again"

That perfect face now expressionless
That perfect figure, perfect dress
Her thought processes I couldn't start to guess
"I don't think so, goodbye", and then "God bless"

And from my life's path away she walked
Happiness deserted me as she talked
To her friends of holidays and the dork
My love remained confined, untouched, uncorked

Should I give chase throughout the land?
I'd fight all suitors for her hand
But unrequited love is damned
My life passes as the timer's falling sand

I sit too long while indecision waits
I rise and walk to the open gates
No sight, no sound or her perfume awaits
Fate's chosen meeting; do not trust the Fates

I know more certain than the day
She was the one sent to afire the grey
That drapes our lives and becalms the gay
So functioning but functionless we accept we stay

Cupid cruelly shot me through the heart and soul
Inferred my half-life would be made a whole
Pointed to her said "There she is, your goal"
Then left me in the gutter with a begging bowl

From the ground my shroud arises and I recognize
It is unseen to all outward eyes
We all wear one, it's a grand disguise
Then we pretend to all gaiety with smiling lies

But those with the gift to look within
In amongst all the organs placed beneath the skin
Would see a space, a vacuum and then more nothing
Difference between life and living death paper-thin

I sense her in the skies, the air, the wind, the rain
Near houses, beside streams through a window pane
She awoke the beast within from where it had quietly lain
And I know now that I will never see her again.